I am so excited that I’m double blogging today. (Tomorrow is a day off the computer and I totally deserve it.) Writing a novel is hard work. Rewriting is even harder for me. Edits are slit my wrists painful when I hate every word I wrote in the novel. (I would never condone or do anything to harm me. I might one day light the manuscript on fire and take pleasure in watching the pages curl that I think are horrible.) I don’t know any author who hasn’t gone through that cycle of loving the work to hating the work to loving the work again. So I’ll start at the beginning. It’s Nanowrimo. I spoke to my husband about how I intended for Nanowrimo November to be my get my butt back in gear month. We moved in October and we were away till mid August. The summer of writing didn’t happen for me. I was having a hard time focusing and hadn’t written much. The calendar loomed. I saw the calendar and said okay November it is. I edited Stormy Peril in October, submitted it to Kindle Scout and then decided to write new. November 1st to 5th I wrote 21000 words. I was on a roll in a new novel. Then my publisher emailed me asking about the edits for Mything The Throne. I thought perhaps they forgot about me. I didn’t think I could handle fixing that hot mess. The email set me off. I had till December 5th to make it good. I have now rewritten 75000 words into a new POV and tightened the story. It’s practically brand new as it was that awful. I want to go through it again after Thanksgiving to make the pages now shine that are rewritten. But for tonight… it’s party time! I finished!!! Tomorrow I can eat mom’s Turkey with pleasure and not stare at the computer.
Happy Thanksgiving and I hope everyone else is having an awesome day. I’ll be dancing…
Victoria Pinder
Always Reimagining Life
Frequently Asked Questions
How many words can you write during NaNoWriMo in the first week?
According to author Victoria Pinder, it’s possible to write 21,000 words in just the first five days of NaNoWriMo if you’re focused and on a roll. However, unexpected obligations — like publisher edit requests — can interrupt momentum mid-month, requiring writers to shift from drafting new work to revising existing manuscripts instead.
What does it feel like to rewrite a novel into a new point of view?
Rewriting a novel into a new point of view is described by author Victoria Pinder as grueling and emotionally painful, likening it to hating every word you originally wrote. In her case, she rewrote 75,000 words into a new POV within about a month, calling the result ‘practically brand new’ because the original draft was that problematic.
Should you write a new novel or do publisher edits when both deadlines hit at the same time?
When a publisher’s edit deadline conflicts with writing a new novel, the publisher deadline generally takes priority. Victoria Pinder paused her NaNoWriMo project after writing 21,000 words to meet a December 5th edit deadline for her publisher. She completed the 75,000-word rewrite first, planning to return to the new novel afterward.
